That's the nanoship argument all over again: "you don't need to nerf nano, just use nano yourself and you'll be competitive!" Warfare links are overpowered. Warfare links working off-grid is overpowered. Warfare links working from inside POS shields is overpowered.

It's a performance optimization problem. We could turn on range-based boosting in Odyssey but it would melt all the servers.

And this isn't being delayed by Odyssey, the team working on the underlying code that will make ongrid boosting possible (along with many other things) isn't releasing anything in Odyssey. It's just that big of a project.

So like I said before, at some point CCP Veritas will make all my ganglink-related dreams come true but I honestly do not know when that point will be. When Veritas describes a programming challenge as "very hard" I tend to believe him.

As much as I hate to suggest it, have you tried linking them with the overview? You already do the range checks to ensure a ship disappears from the overview without melting the server...

It seems that an additional check for fleet status could be the trigger for the boost.

Although without knowing the details of how the boosts mod to stats are stored... (i.e. actually persisted in the DB vs in memory, ad hoc per "grid" instance, etc... I can't really help to optimize much more than that. (If it is actually persisted to the database, I feel great pain for your database servers. No one should have to madly flip a switch on and off on those scales!)

Bools!! Bools everywhere!!!!!

The devs put out a blog on changes to the strength imbalances between of tech IIIs and command ships. Until their grand plan of removing the off-grid booster is complete surely they could just implement the proposed nerf to the power of Tech III command links.

It's very simple, and will partially fix the problem, tamp down the complaints, and maybe make command ships relevant again until the grand fix. All it would take is a simple change in one value in the database.

So, I'm beginning to believe the economic self-serving argument. Somehow they perceive the loss of accounts if they actually fix the stupidity of an off-grid I-win button.

However, to just drop the 5% link bonuses to the 2% they've already said they will do will not kill off the use of Off-grid alts, I suspect. But it would accomplish a whole lot in fixing the imbalance they create.

edit - and it would do so sooner than "soon" or "before the end of time"

I have thought that an interesting option would be to force the receiving ship to have to use a module to receive off-grid bonuses. Call it a Deep Space Antenna or something. Make it a high slot item that uses some capacitor and fitting. That way "1v1" frigates would be forced to drop a percentage of their DPS if they wanted to receive the benefits of off-grid links. But dedicated tacklers could make the compromises necessary to receive the massive bonuses links provide. Also, fleets could be designed around using or not using such a module.

To implement this, nerf the bonuses of the existing links dramatically, and use the module to "amplify the signal". So off-grid boosting would still work as it does currently, but say at only 10% of its current effectiveness without the module fitted. A mild, but hardly game changing amount. Without the module all ships in a properly set up fleet would receive this bonus as they currently receive full-strength bonuses.

However, when a player activates the module, the game checks to see if the ship is receiving bonuses and adds a multiplier to those effects up to the current amount. Give the module a long cycle time to reduce calls to the server to check if links are active.

Also, consider giving this module a visual effect when active, so pilots can readily tell if another pilot is actively receiving links. That would provide some interesting intelligence gathering opportunities.

You could even add a new skill(s) to go with the module: Deep space antenna tuning. 20% per level to antenna gain effectiveness. At level 5 and running the module, bonuses would be the same as they are now. Maybe another skill to reduce the capacitor use of deep space antennas.

Advantages:

Gives new "utility" to utility high slots
Shakes up fittings / cap stability on many ships
Allows dedicated tacklers to get the bonuses they need at the expense of DPS and cap use, making "1v1s" against links more fair
Allows the current system for applying bonuses to remain in place. Just have the percentages tweaked.

Disadvantages:

Fitting on smaller ships is penalized to a greater degree
Can be shut off with energy neutralizers.
Adding more modules to game / additional skills to train.

Can you imagine the logistics of trying to deal with this in a large scale fleet?

i stand corrected.

looks like i misinterpreted your presentation during fan fest.
i thought commands were coming out in this expansion and they are actually in the "future" part.

i just spent a bill buying the rest of them for this expansion..

ugg

I'd just like to say that off-grid boosting is bad for PvP as a whole and should be removed.
My two cents

Off grid boosting for small roaming gangs is a valid guerilla tactic, I personally feel that the TE nerf will affect the small gang roamers as well, as they tend to lean more towards fast, kiting ships. We all hate things and different playstyles in the game, but most of you dullbears wont bat an eyelid at using your own offgrid, pos'd up boosts and ganging up on players, I bet most of you fail a lot which is why you scream for all this nerfing.

In short, taking off grid boosts out of the game removes an entire play style from the game, if CCP starts down this path I doubt it will be long before all types of guerilla style play will be removed or heavily nerfed, leaving only the blob.

I may support the idea that some ships can offgrid boost (tech 3's), some able to at a pos (orca/rorqual), some only able to ongrid (combat command ships/titans) becuase ships like the damnation are really built for on grid boosting, the tech 3's are often cloaky and used for small gangs, rorq mining links only, orca reduced boosts for combat orientated links and all you large fleet players should have more reasons to shoot each others titans.

Off grid boosting is no worse for PVP than on grid boosting. The problem is that boosting is bad for PVP. The benefits are far too extreme in a game of 2% increases.

-Liang

I guess it has to be a case of risk vs reward. Currently there is minimal risk when offgrid boosting whereas it provides a massive bonus to certain play-styles.

You may be correct that current bonuses are out of hand even if they ship were vulnerable on grid.

I personally would like to see a more active role for command ships, with real time boosts that only effect specifically targeted ships. The command ship pilot would have to change bonuses and or which ships should get these bonuses depending on the situation. This would ensure that the boosts are at least earned because a player actually has to "fly" the ship in battle.

No, it really doesn't have anything to do with risk vs reward. Most roaming gangs have boosts, and their booster is risked at the safe spot and at the gates. The problem here isn't that command ships don't have an active role in fleet. The problem is that boosts are completely and utterly overpowered whether they're on grid or not. Boosts, as a whole, are the problem. Nerf them into the ground.

-Liang

You may be correct that current bonuses are out of hand even if they ship were vulnerable on grid.

The nearly unprobable, nullified, cloaky command ship which sits AFK at a safespot, or worse in a POS Bubble, is problematic but if they can be made more vulnerable, vulnerable enough that they need a real player at the keyboard behind them then I would expect to see people fitting and flying them differently.
Real Players don't tend to enjoy sitting at safes, watching D-Scan while their mates are having a fight - if they're at the keyboard anyway then they might as well fit a tank and weapons and join in - it's probably safer to hang around the logis anyway and it reduces the risk of the command ship having to warp right at the moment that their boosts are key to victory.

Warfare links, when you have to choose one, or even two or three, could be likened to intelligence - if you know that your opponents are going to be fielding entirely Amarr turret ships and lasers then you shove on more EM resists to gain an advantage; links turn that effect into a game system, if you're prepared to field them then the advantage should be tangible - the trouble comes when there's no need to choose which links you want to use because you've loaded all of them onto the ship.

I believe its hard to really say whether the bonuses are too powerful or not in its current state....

...The primary link mechanics are very much the 2% game, and the final result of a single link is effectively a one module gain (an EANM for example)...